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Brief Synopsis

Henry Latham, a resident of a small town, is angered when he learns that a new two-dollar milk tax has been approved by the city. Henry tries to persuade Mayor George Colton to cancel the tax, but Colton refuses, insisting that the tax revenues are necessary to finance a new golf course. As a form of protest, Henry cancels his milk deliveries and buys a cow. The cow, named Cora, is placed in the Lathams' backyard, and its presence soon raises protests from the neighborhood. Unknown to Henry, his young son David and Colton's son Georgie are secretly milking the cow dry and selling the milk for a profit. Henry cannot understand why the cow is not producing milk for him, so he consults a quack cow psychologist for advice. Upset by the late-night cow noise coming from Henry's yard, Joe Sweeney, one of Henry's neighbors, complains to the mayor. The mayor promises action against Henry, but is frustrated when he cannot find a single city ordinance banning the ownership of a cow. When Thompson, a reporter, writes a story about Henry's cow for his newspaper, the whole town learns of the mayor's corrupt use of tax money. As the mayor's office is flooded with letters of complaint, Seton, the mayor's assistant, urges Colton to try to reason with Henry. The meeting proves useless, however, and Colton ends the discussion by declaring war on Henry. Later that day, Joe sneaks into Henry's yard and releases the cow. The cow makes its way to Colton's house, but is later returned to the Lathams. Colton and Henry eventually forge a reconciliation which results in the mayor asking Henry to help organize the town's Fourth of July celebration. Henry suggests firing the town's eighteenth century cannon during the proceedings, but while discussing the celebration plans, Henry and Colton get drunk and load too much gunpowder into the cannon. When the cannon is fired, the explosion rocks the small town so hard that it knocks Pete Hodge, the town bum, into the river. Hodge, determined to find the person responsible for nearly killing him, is later seen roaming the streets of the town with a shotgun. Fearing retribution, Henry makes hasty plans for a mountain vacation and leaves town with the cow in tow.